Newsletter T4W4
Tuesday 8th November
School Notices
Talofa lava - Hello everyone,
We hope you had a lovely weekend with your families/whānau. Term 4 is always a busy term with lots happening so please ensure you read class newsletters, the school newsletter, Alerts, Website, and Facebook page for details and dates of upcoming events.
Assessment and Reports - IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Teachers are busy assessing student progress in preparation for their End of Year Reports which will come home at the end of Week 8 (Friday 9 Dec). Academic progress and learning goals will be reported online via Hero for Reading, Writing and Maths at this time also. The End of Year Hardcopy Reports will contain general comments and key competency progress.
You will need to ensure that you have logged into HERO so that you can access your child’s learning progress. Information on how to log in and/or get help with this is here, and we recommend you do this before 9 December when the paper copy part of the report is sent home so you can read them alongside each other. Please be aware the information on Hero may not be up to date until 9 December when teachers will have finished inputting and updating the data.
2023 Class placement letters will go home on Monday 12 December.
2023 New Entrants
If you have a New Entrant who is turning 5 and intending to start at Whitney Street School next year please check that they are enrolled. This helps with our planning of class numbers and teachers.
Ōpaoa Fundamentals
This week and next week various Ōpaoa classes are attending the Fundamental Skills Programme at Stadium 2000. Please ensure notices have been returned and children have the gear they need to participate. School lunches will be delivered to the stadium.
Swimming Pool
Clive, our amazing caretaker, is busy preparing the swimming pool for the upcoming season. If the weather permits and the maintenance work gets completed in time, we will open it up and class lessons may start before the end of the term. Teachers will send their own notices home regarding this.
Staff Only Day - Monday 21 November - SCHOOL CLOSED
A reminder also that school will be closed next Monday 21 November while teachers and support staff participate in a Staff Only Day.
Year 6 Leavers Dinner
Invitations for our Year 6 students to attend their graduation dinner and movie will be coming out shortly. The date for this event is set for Wednesday 14 December from 5:30pm - approximately 9:30pm. Please save the date in your calendars.
Teacher Union Meetings
On Nov 15 many teachers will be off-site at various times during the day for approximately 1-2 hours.This is to attend the teachers union meeting where they will be discussing and voting on next steps in public service pay negotiation, collective agreement negotiations, and the campaign to increase school staffing. NZEI Te Riu Roa members have an entitlement to attend as these are official paid union meetings i.e. happen during work hours.
To cause the least disruption as possible we will work in our Hubs and teams and be releasing each other to attend so school remains open.
Our Board
The Board provides direction for the school in its governance role and parent consultation is a major part of this process. The Board publishes a newsletter from time to time and items in the weekly school newsletter to keep the school community informed of happenings around the school. Here is a copy of this month's Board Summary.
The Board meets twice a term in the Awatere Room, usually starting at 7.00pm and parents are always welcome to attend. Dates for the meetings are mentioned in the school’s weekly newsletter and are on the School Community Calendar with copies of the Board Meeting Minutes available in hardcopy in the office foyer and digitally via the website under the Our People tab, then Our Board.
Our Board members are from left to right in the photo: Marcello Pinheiro, Donna Stewart (our recently elected Staff Rep), Tracy van der Velden, Felicity Spencer, Leah Fairgrieve, Kate McEntee, and Cheryl Wadworth.
Lights Over Marlborough
Please encourage all your friends, family, work colleagues, etc to attend our upcoming fundraiser which is happening this weekend, and thank you to everyone who is helping out. We are keeping all our fingers and toes crossed that the weather is kind to us so that we don’t have to postpone until Sunday. See you there!
Mufti Days
A massive thank you to you all for your generosity in supporting our LOM Mufti days these past 2 months. We now have a great stash of chocolate and bottles for the Chocolate Wheel and for the Mystery Bottle Stall at Lights Over Marlborough. It is wonderful to have such a supportive community.
Taiopenga Festival
Tino pai to both Kapa Haka groups for their fantastic performances at the Taiopenga Festival the week before last. A huge thank you and congratulations to Kuia Merehira, Whaea Connie, Mr Alexander, Ms Dikmans and Miss MacFarlane for all their expertise, help, patience and guidance. Our tamariki were outstanding on the stage for their performances, and were patient, attentive and respectful whilst waiting for their turn, and afterwards.
The senior Kapa Haka group will also be performing at Lights Over Marlborough on 12 November and notices will be sent home with the children / tamariki nearer the time.
Ki O Rahi Tournament
On a windswept Wednesday in early November, two teams from Whitney Street School performed with skill and tenacity at the annual inter-school Ki o Rahi tournament at Redwoodtown School. Massive thanks to the wonderful parents and fantastic students who took part. Team photos below.
TUMEKE!
In week 2 the children spent the middle part of the day doing an activity of their choosing. There was a variety of activites on offer. Here are some photos of the fun that was had!
Sunsmart
Summer is just around the corner. Please remember that we are a Sunsmart School and the children need to be wearing a wide-brimmed school hat during morning tea and lunch times this term. Hats are available to purchase from the office at a cost of $9. If children do not have a hat they will be restricted as to where they can play.
We are proud to share...
The Kiwican Corner
Manuia le vaiaso (have a great week)
Whitney Street School Staff
Repeated (but important!) School Notices
Merino School Jumpers
Kia Ora Whitney St whānau,
I am passionate about my children wearing natural fibres and have been putting through orders for merino jumpers for the last couple of years. I try to put through two orders a year at the start of the year and at the end of term 3. I use True Fleece, https://www.truefleece.co.nz/collections/kids-tops/products/kids-coast-quarter-zip.
I need at least four jumpers to go ahead with the order. If you would like to see what the jumpers are like, the school office has one or you can see me personally.
The cost will be slightly reduced from the website price and will be $80 per jumper.
If you could please contact me at frithcromb@gmail.com and let me know of your interest.
Thank you!
Frith Valk
Free Period Products for Girls
If your Whitney Street School daughter has her period, she is eligible for two packs of free period products per month. These will be available to her when you let Christee Dalzell know via email (dalzell@whitneystreet.school.nz), by leaving a wee note on her desk or by contacting the school office.
Hopefully, this initiative is utilised really well by our Whitney kōtiro/girls! We have figured out a system where the students are able to easily access these in an inconspicuous way.
This is a brilliant way to save money on the grocery bill so please take advantage of it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to pop in and talk to Christee.
Our school calendar is often filled with trips and events and sometimes the dates and details change. The BEST place to keep an eye on what is happening is on the school App in the calendar section.
11.11.22 - Eltham Road will be extra busy with buses from Bohally
Fri, Nov 11, 2022, 08:30 AM
Eltham Road, Blenhiem Central, Blenheim, New Zealand
Download our school App
We encourage all parents to download our school app from the Playstore or Apple Store, as we find this the most effective way of sending out Alerts to parents/caregivers. You can also access a wealth of information from the app as it has links to the school calendar, newsletters, etc.
Please subscribe to Alerts from the classes/groups that your child belongs to. If you want to subscribe to groups later on, you can do this via the ‘Alerts Subscriptions’ which is in the Menu (top left). Please do this to ensure you are subscribed to the classes and Teams that your child or children are in for this school year.
This is also the way we would like you to inform us of absences. This system streamlines the morning routine for Tanya and Michelle so that they can easily see who is away and why.
Please click here to download the School App.
Hero
Suggestions Box
Automatic Payment Option
The Whitney Street School BOT bank details are: 03 0599 0305934 00
Embroid a Stitch (Previously known as Pretty Things Embroidery)
Contact Us
Email: principal@whitneystreet.school.nz
Website: https://whitneystreet.school.nz
Location: Whitney Street, Blenheim, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 578 3028
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhitneyStreetSchool/
Athletics
Want to learn how to run, jump or throw? The skills you learn in athletics are the perfect foundation
for almost any sport.
Every student can give athletics a go. Our local athletics club Marlborough Athletics is welcoming
new members now and we encourage students to get involved and get active.
Contact details for all athletics clubs nationwide are available here athletics.org.nz/FindaClub and
become a member.